Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Is Becoming A Movie... Start Screaming Now

Children and grown children alike no doubt recall, both fondly and fearfully, the three-book series of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Many a bed was wet in the 80's and 90's thanks to these suckers.

Penned by Alvin Schwartz and gruesomely illustrated by Stephen Gammell, Scary Stories has sold over 7 million copies since it was first released in 1981. Now a whole new generation will get to experience the terror we once did, thanks to director Guillermo Del Toro who has confirmed that he is going to develop, with a potential to direct, a film translation of the series.

(CREDIT: Twitter)
It is far too early to know when this series will hit theaters, but we do know that Del Toro is producing it with Sean Daniel, Jason Brown and Elizabeth Grave for CBS Films. John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Tim Burton’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and Corpse Bride, has penned the screenplay.
(CREDIT: imgur)
As it stands, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is one of the most banned books and series in America...

The boring, matronly American Library Association alleged that the visuals within the books were far too disturbing for children. Yes, we agree the pictures are terrifying, but if we still see that woman with spiders bursting out of her face and that dead, contorted bride in an attic trunk when we close our eyes, why the hell can’t today’s children be forced to endure the same?
(CREDIT: Horror Made)
Sadly, in 2010, to celebrate the “30th anniversary” of the series, Harper Collins re-released the books with all-new illustrations by Brett Helquist, who had previously illustrated A Series of Unfortunate Events. The slew of one-star reviews on the Amazon page of the updated books tells us all we need to know about peoples’ reactions to the less-gruesome visuals. It was never really the stories that were scary, it was the cursed pictures!
(CREDIT: iO9)
But! We probably don’t need to worry too much about Del Toro compromising the vision of the film in the same way as the updated books. He has developed and directed previous dark and disturbing films including Pan’s Labyrinth and the recent Crimson Peak, so this type of material is totally in his wheelhouse. Furthermore, Del Toro is an admitted, avid fan of the Scary Stories series, owning ten of the original Stephen Gammell illustrations.
(CREDIT: imgur)
Del Toro is currently also hard at work on a Crimson Peak sequel, a remake of Fantastic Voyage and a personal project. We hope he just throws them all aside immediately so he can get to work on ruining the sleep of today's generation of brats.